2013 NFL Draft: Bacarri Rambo Scouting Report

Georgia surprised many last season in the SEC, especially on the defensive end of the ball. The Bulldogs ended up with one of the best defenses in 2012 thanks in large part to Jarvis Jones and John Jenkins. Bacarri Rambo was also a great player for Georgia his senior season, though he was suspended the first four games for his second failed drug test. He came into Georgia as a well rounded athlete and will leave Georgia as a well rounded safety prospect for the NFL.

Strengths

• Good size. Average height at 6' 0", but is a solid 215 lbs.
• Good speed. Not great, but range won't be a problem for Rambo.
• Great hands for a defensive back.
• Ball hawk. Reads the QBs eyes well and breaks quickly to the ball.
• Causes a lot of turnovers. 16 interceptions and 6 forced fumbles at Georgia.
• Solid run defender. Not physical in run defense, but fills his gap.
• Plus deep coverage. Very efficient with his angles, taking the shortest route to the ball.
• Above average blitzer. Has a tendency to creep up to the line too early, but is effective when he has proper timing.

Weaknesses

• Off the field issues. Has been suspended multiple times for failed drug tests and was suspended one game his junior year for breaking team rules. He claims the second failed drug test that lead to his four game suspension to start last season was due to eating brownies that unbeknownst to him were laced with pot. How he answered questions about that at the combine will be a key consideration for where teams place him on their draft boards.
• Inconsistent tackler. Goes for the ankle tackles too often. Needs to square up to the ball carrier and hit him. If he works on his technique more, he will be a solid tackler.
• He takes a lot of risk. This is also one of the major reasons why he caused so many turnovers at Georgia, but at time he can be overaggressive in his deep zones and commit to early. At times it pays off big, but other times it leads to big plays for the offense.
• Not consistently physical. Can come in like a bat out of hell one play, then the next look tentative.
• Can he shed blocks in the NFL? He has the skill set to do it, but will he be willing to?

I see Rambo as a decent, potentially great, starting safety in the NFL. Depending on the scheme he is in he could either play strong safety or free safety, but in most schemes he is a free safety. He is not a very physical player and is not great at defending the run. He plays better in deep coverage as a centerfielder/ballhawk type player. His range and ball skill could be very beneficial to many teams, but his has some red flags that teams will have to be comfortable with. I have a late second round grade on Rambo, and he could very well be in play with the Rams second round pick. Needless to say, he'd be a major improvement over Craig Dahl.

Bacarri Rambo vs Florida/Kentucky 2012 (via JPDraftJedi)